Disability Accommodations

A lot of disability accommodations (specifically for those on the spectrum) are seen by society is power grabs. This is largely because people with disabilities are generally on the bottom of the totem pole and thus expected to put up with crap. The problem with accommodations for those on the spectrum is often times they are things that the general population doesn’t like either but puts up with. A few examples.

Lighting that doesn’t drive one up the wall. I think everyone agrees florescent office lighting is not enjoyable. However for someone on the spectrum it can literally be torture. But giving someone an office with incandescent lighting is seen as a privilege reserved for those higher up. In fact the first office job I had my boss’s boss had an office with strictly incandescent lighting.

Tolerable noise levels. Being on the bottom often one gets the shit jobs. For example trying to get out of vacuuming because your sensitivity to noise is seen as manipulation. Even asking to turn the TV down is met with derision a lot of the time.

Advance notice. People on the spectrum cherish structure so if you know something that requires their action is just common courtesy to let them know as far an advance as possible. But this also is seen as a power grab because those lower in society are expected to be on call to those higher.

A medium of communication we are comfortable with. People (even good friends) won’t argue with me online about serious things. Yes it’s a medium I feel more empowered in then they do but that shouldn’t matter if their arguments are sound. I understand that different mediums are conducive for one forming different beliefs and identities (someone who lives offline will be formed differently than someone who lives mostly online). But this doesn’t mean there can’t be common ground.